JD.com Launches Super Hairy Crab Day
With ‘Fresh Crab Insurance’

JD.com Launches Super Hairy Crab Day
With ‘Fresh Crab Insurance’

This week, JD.com launched its Super Hairy Crab Day sales event ahead of the highly-anticipated season for the coveted crustaceans. The event was a huge success, in only 24 hours selling nearly two million crabs and coupons for crabs that customers will give as gifts.

Over the past few years, online sales of Hairy Crabs have spiked – and with JD.com’s efficient logistics network, consumers in over 300 cities across China can now enjoy fresh crabs within 48 hours, and in less than 24 hours in 150 cities. Customers located in cities closer to the heart of crab production, such as Shanghai and Suzhou, are able to receive live crabs within six hours.

JD.com takes special precautions throughout the entire Hairy Crab delivery process so consumers can enjoy the freshest live crabs, including tailor-made packaging to ensure optimum temperature control and air flow. More importantly, by leveraging JD.com’s self-operated cold chain logistics network, the crabs are under 24-hour surveillance throughout the entire process including packaging, distribution, and cross-city and last-mile delivery.

Starting this year, customers will also be eligible for JD.com’s Fresh Crab Insurance. If any crabs purchased directly from JD.com die within six hours upon delivery, customers will be eligible for a refund.

Driven by JD.com’s reputation for quality, sales of Hairy Crabs on the site grew 500% in January to August compared to the same period a year earlier. Beijing and Guangzhou were the hottest markets for Hairy Crab purchases – with Beijing sales increasing a whopping 800% since last year. We anticipate an even bigger spike in sales for September 2017.

As JD’s logistics network reaches more and more people throughout China, the company expects Hairy Crab sales to grow even further. For example, in the southwestern province of Guangxi, Hairy Crab sales in the first half of this year saw an 860% increase from the same period in 2016.

Currently, JD.com offers high-quality crabs from a variety of sources, including from Lake Yangcheng, Lake Tai and Lake Hongze in Jiangsu – as well as emerging areas such as Lake Panjin in Liaoning and Lake Dazong in Jiangsu. Since increasing their exposure to consumers by selling on JD.com, fishermen from Lake Panjin and Lake Dazong have experienced more than a 350% increase in monthly sales.

To support the development of sustainable Hairy Crab production, JD.com has joined with local governments in 10 key crab production areas, including Lake Yangcheng, Lake Tai and Lake Hongze to form a strategic crab alliance. By working together, JD.com will be able to promote industry standardization, improve production sustainability and bring rapid “lake-to-table” delivery of fresh, high-quality Hairy Crabs to consumers throughout China.

“Super Hairy Crab Day” is the latest “Super Product Day” or “Super Brand Day” on JD.com, programs designed to promote specific brands or product categories. On July 7, JD.com’s Super American Cherry Product Day saw sales of more than 15.7 million cherries from Chelan, Washington.